Diversity Fest, August 2025

August 16th was Diversity Fest in downtown Lewisburg. I came as a vendor cooking burritos on the back of my truck. In my registration paperwork, I also made it clear that I was planning to share my love the Lord and the Catholic Church. The organization sponsoring Diversity Fest advertised that they seek to uphold the dignity and value of all people—particularly the traditionally marginalized, including LGBTQ folk. This is 100% in line with Catholic social teaching and my own personal missionary heart, but I didn’t want to give the impression that I supported everything that is sometimes associated LGBTQ pride, and so in preparation for the event, I made more signs reading: “I believe all that the Catholic Church maintains as truth. . . I promise to honor, respect, and learn from those who believe differently. . . Tell us about your spiritual journey. You and your story matter. God loves you.” I also had statues and other visibly Catholic imagery. It was a great time! Many of my friends joined me including a deacon from my Church and my dad and uncle. I also had a few of my students stop by and hang out with me by the truck, including some who identify as LGBTQ. A local woman and friend of mine who is a secular humanist expressed how much she appreciated my desire to spread love, and gave me a big hug. (She took the picture below.) Differences in belief never game up, but I think there was tremendous value in just being together in love and solidarity as a human family, and witnessing to the fact that people can be different and passionate about their beliefs and still love and care for one another.